(Los Angeles, CA – April 26, 2011) – Sundance Institute, the world-renowned nonprofit arts organization, has announced it will host its first-ever Los Angeles benefit on Wednesday, June 8 from 7:00 – 10:00 PM at Franklin Canyon Ranch in Beverly Hills, CA. Celebrate Sundance Institute, a festive evening to celebrate the Institute founded by Robert Redford, will be hosted by the Sundance Institute Board of Trustees and Celebration Host Committee including Sundance Alumni Jennifer Aniston, Miguel Arteta, Don Cheadle, Lisa Cholodenko, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jon Hamm, Brit Marling, David Hyde Pierce, Josh Radnor, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Quentin Tarantino, Ondi Timoner, Mike White and Alfre Woodard among others. Full host committee listed below. The evening will also feature a special musical performance by Fitz and The Tantrums.
“As an integral part of both filmmaking and nonprofit arts communities in Los Angeles, it is wonderfully fitting for us to celebrate Sundance Institute here with our supporters, friends and neighbors,” said Executive Director Keri Putnam. “And while for years we have opened the doors of our Utah home, it’s exciting for us to host a benefit in our LA ‘back yard’ for the first time, and to be able to involve so many of our established alumni, and emerging new artists.”
Celebrate Sundance Institute will raise crucial funds in support of the nonprofit Sundance Institute and its year-round programs in Feature Film, Documentary, Theatre, Film Music and Native Programming. Over the past 30 years the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for thousands of independent artists through its Labs, Grants and Fellowships for screenwriters, directors, producers, theatre artists, film composers, and documentary filmmakers.
In addition to its artist-support programs, the Institute presents the annual Sundance Film Festival, the internationally acclaimed 10-day, multi-venue celebration of film, art, and ideas. The Festival draws to Utah each year nearly 50,000 people including filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, students, social change activists, cultural influencers and journalists from more than 110 countries.
Celebrate Sundance Institute benefit tickets will include the cocktail reception, buffet dinner and a special performance. Packages are available at $10,000 and individual benefit tickets are available from $500 to $1,000. Inquiries and purchases can be made by contacting the Sundance Institute Development department at (310) 360-1981.
To request media credentials to cover the event, please contact Andy Gelb or Stephanie Samson of Slate PR at (310) 461-0111 or andy@slate-pr.com / stephanie@slate-pr.com.
The Celebration Host Committee includes Jennifer Aniston, Miguel Arteta, John August, Jason Blum, Jess Cagle, Lisa Cholodenko, Scott Frank, Steve Gaghan, John Gatins, Michael Goldenberg, Steve Golin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Susannah Grant, Jon Hamm, John Lee Hancock, Lynette Howell, Karyn Kohl, Jeremy Konner, Bettina Korek, Kasi Lemmons, Brit Marling, Tracy McKnight, Chris McQuarrie, James Newton Howard, David Hyde Pierce, Josh Radnor, Mark Roybal, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Jeffrey and Catherine Soros, Quentin Tarantino, Ondi Timoner, Mike White, Alfre Woodard and Warren Zavala.
ABOUT SUNDANCE INSTITUTE
Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Son of Babylon, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, I Am My Own Wife, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. www.sundance.org
With offices in Park City, New York, and Los Angeles, Sundance Institute is expanding its L.A. presence under Putnam’s leadership while continuing to serve artists and audiences worldwide. Upcoming Institute programs in LA include its first ComposersLab: LA (May 21) for emerging film composers, and ShortsLab: LA (August 6) which will be complemented by ShortsLabs in Chicago (May 7) and New York (July 9). The Institute also presents a series of documentary work-in-progress screenings at the Hammer Museum in addition to Feature Film Screenplay readings, and other programs throughout the year.
Sundance Institute’s unique Labs for film and theatre artists have operated in the U.S. for 30 years to great success, and in more recent years have been the model for dozens of international programs to discover an develop the work of independent film artists. Today there are a wide array of active Sundance Institute programs and Labs around the world including in Jordan, East Africa, China, Turkey, Tel Aviv, and – starting in 2012 – India. In addition, the Institute’s Documentary Fund, celebrating its 10th anniversary next year, is the largest global fund for contemporary documentary films and provides direct granting to up to 50 projects a year from all over the world.
The Sundance Institute Board of Trustees includes President and Founder, Robert Redford, Chair of the Board, Wally Weisman, Vice Chair of the Board, Pat Mitchell, along with Kenneth Cole, Jack Ferraro, Jeanne Donovan Fisher, Bob Frankenberg, Joseph Gordon‐Levitt, George Gund, Mellody Hobson, Cindy Harrell Horn, Sheila Johnson, Christine Lahti, Lyn Davis Lear, Lynn Nottage, Heather Rae, Geoffrey K. Sands, James Swartz, Stanley Tucci, and John E. Warnock. Emeritus Trustees: Glenn Close, Jake Eberts, Sally Field, Steven Haft, Thomas E. Rothman, and George White.
The Sundance Institute Alumni Advisory board includes Katie Aselton, Lee Daniels, America Ferrera, James Franco, Lauren Greenfield, Clark Gregg, Braden King, Stew, Stacy Peralta, Jason Reitman, Morgan Spurlock and Taika Waititi.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Andy Gelb
andy@slate-pr.com
310-461-0111
Stephanie Samson
stephanie@slate-pr.com
310-461-0111
